New YWCA Bucks County executive director a familiar face

Thursday

Apr 25, 2013 at 12:01 AMApr 25, 2013 at 9:45 AM

Seven months as interim director of the YWCA Bucks County was all it took for Karen Forbes to fall in love with the organization.

Forbes was so enamored with the nonprofit, whose mission is to empower women and end racism, that she decided to take on the permanent role as its executive director. She started in her new role April 2.

“I’ve been treating this like a newbie,” Forbes said in an interview at the YWCA’s offices in Bensalem. “I’ve approached this like a new job. Things are rolling along just as they should. But I’m also taking a minute to get a deeper understanding of the community and the needs of the community.”

Forbes took over in an interim role in August, following the resignation of Trisha Odoms, who held the job for less than a year. Odoms had been hired to replace retiring leader Lorna Michelson.

As interim director, Forbes said her job not only was to oversee day-to-day operations, but also to help the YWCA’s board through the leadership transition and help it become a better organization.

A native of Levittown’s Red Cedar Hill section in Bristol Township who now lives in Springfield, Montgomery County, Forbes has worked in the nonprofit sector for nearly three decades. She was executive director of Big Brothers Big Sisters of Montgomery County before joining the Nonprofit Center at La Salle University’s School of Business.

It was through the Nonprofit Center that Forbes became interim director of the YWCA. The center provides consulting services and leadership to nonprofit organizations throughout the region.

YWCA board president Sharon Nelson said the directors were about to start their search for a permanent executive director when they learned Forbes was interested in the job. Forbes had already decided to leave the Nonprofit Center.

“We liked her working style,” Nelson said. “She has extensive experience, a lot of energy. She’s a fun person to be around. and she really had a passion for our mission.”

Forbes said she hesitated briefly before applying. As an interim director for various organizations over the past eight years, was she ready to commit all her time to one organization?

“For eight years, I’ve been sprinting,” she said. “I’ve been going into an organization, just going in and getting to work, taking over immediately to begin the transition process. The executive director can’t work that way. It’s more of a marathon. Am I really ready to take on, to care about, one organization, from soup to nuts? I really thought about it. And then I said, ‘Yeah, I want to do this.’ ”

Forbes said she never had similar feelings when working with other organizations through the Nonprofit Center. The passion and commitment of the YWCA’s staff, its board and the community impressed her.

“I fell in love with this organization,” she said. “The community, the board, the staff, the people we serve — they all believe in this organization.”

The YWCA seeks to empower women and end racism through programs it runs in the community. It staffs four family centers in high-density apartment complexes in Bensalem and Warminster. Those centers provide after-school programming, a food pantry and other services. The Y also provides programs in local schools.

“We deliver our programs where people live,” Forbes said. “We take our services to where people are.”

Now that Forbes is looking into the future, she hopes the YWCA will be able to expand programming into Upper Bucks. She also wants to see more programs designed to empower high school-age girls.

In order to grow, however, the YWCA needs to increase funding, both for programs and for general operating expenses, she said. About half of the YWCA’s $1.3 million budget comes from Bucks County, Forbes said.

But perhaps Forbes’ biggest task is to increase awareness of the organization.

“There are people who would say ‘Oh, the YWCA is the best-kept secret in Bucks County,’ “ Forbes said. “I don’t want it to be a secret. It’s not a secret. It’s an awesome, 54-year-old organization that empowers women, for crying out loud. By empowering women, we empower families. By eliminating racism, we make it better for everyone — why should we keep it a secret? Every single woman in Bucks County should be a member of the YWCA Bucks County. Why wouldn’t you be?”

Follow Us

Advertise

Original content available for non-commercial use under a Creative Commons license, except where noted.
Bucks County Courier Times ~ 8400 N. Bristol Pk, Levittown, PA 19057 ~ Privacy Policy ~ Terms Of Service